There’s recognizing that you actually need a business phone system is the first step toward your quest for clear and consistent communication. The next move is deciding which phone system is best for your business. If this leaves you scratching your head, check out our recent blog: “Do I Need a Phone System for My Business?” for tips and real-world advice!
With so many options, it can be daunting to decide on a solution that works for your business, employees, and customers. For starters, a busy contact center with 24/7 operations has different needs than a seasonal small business or academic institution. What’s more, having remote or hybrid employees is also something to consider.
The best phone system should boast competitive pricing, a collection of all-inclusive features, ability to scale up/down as needed, and freedom from worrying about security issues, such as breaches and hackers.
Let’s discuss what to look for when choosing a business phone system, such as pricing, features, scalability, and more.
Deciding on a Phone System
As previously mentioned, first decide which phone system is right for you. Whether you choose on-site, hosted VoIP, or cloud phone systems, your solution should include the features you want and need, at a price you can afford. Consider some of the following questions before engaging with a phone provider:
- What features do I need?
- How many phones will I require?
- What type of pricing should I be looking for?
- What is the installation and setup process?
- How do you handle tech support?
Depending on your responses and other considerations, the following elements should be at the top of your pros and cons list.
1. The Price Is Right
Similar to the popular TV game show, whomever returns with the best and most competitive bid should be the clear winner. However, just because a provider says they are the best-priced, doesn’t mean they actually are. Here at CCi, we can definitively say that while we offer fair pricing, we also have the goods to back it up.
If you’re still skeptical, take a look at our competitive pricing analysis for more reassurance and more information!
2. All-Inclusive (and Exclusive) Features
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: We’ll never force you to purchase features you don’t want or need! We’ll outline not only all of the standard features you’ll receive, but also how we can save you both time and money. We also offer several features that are exclusive to us, such as on-site installation, instructor-led training, unlimited program changes, and a lifetime phone warranty.
Even more noteworthy is our setup and training. Unlike some of our competitors, we don’t contract third-party companies. We’ll dispatch our own technicians, who know and understand how to incorporate our system with your business. They’ll also spend extra time getting to know your processes and people to provide easy and seamless service whenever you call us. You and our techs will get to know each other on a first-name basis!
Helping you easily adapt to a new system is also a priority. While our customers really love our online instructor-led training, we can also conduct in-person sessions at your job site or office.
3. Scalability
When researching phone systems, it’s best to work with a provider that allows you to easily scale up or down, and won’t charge you a bundle whenever you want to make even the smallest changes. If your business is experiencing a growth spurt or you have a seasonal operation requiring varying levels of communication at certain times, we’ll help you to adjust. And, because we want you to save money, we base our pricing on economy of scale: As you add more users, we’ll charge you less per user!
4. Number of Phones
While this decision could be based on personal preference, a busy contact center or healthcare facility will likely require more phones than a small business. For nonprofits, schools, or seasonal operations, it’s important to ensure you have coverage for busier times such as fundraisers, academic terms, and other high-traffic events.
Good criteria on which to base this are the following determinants:
- Number of Employees
- Size of Business
- Number of Locations
- Call Volume
- Number of Actual Phone Lines
5. Security & Reliability
Dropped calls. Garbled communication. Spotty service. These are just a few items that could cost you a deal you’re trying to close. In fact, your customers won’t even pick up the phone if they know they’ll have to deal with lackluster communication and poor customer service.
It’s therefore critical to have the most reliable and secure business phone system. This can be achieved through VoIP-based or cloud phones, both of which will still operate, even during a disaster or other unfortunate situation. Having added encryption also protects against cyber threats and hackers, and video conference bombers, which have unfortunately gained traction with the increase of virtual communications.
If you’re not ready just yet to move toward a hosted phone service and want to retain your on-site system, with CCi Voice, you have the option of a hybrid cloud solution blending the best of both worlds. Should anything unforeseen happen, we can still quickly move your solution to the cloud with little downtime and interruption.
CCi Voice: Helping You Understand & Decide on the Right Phone System
Once you’ve decided your organization requires a new phone system or phone service, we can help you every step of the way. Whether you want guidance on the right type of service or simply want to know how many phones/users you might need. We are here for you, and are just a click or phone call away.
CCi Voice is completely transparent when it comes to pricing. View our pricing page to see how cost-effective we are, and all the features we include—at no extra charge—when compared to the competition!
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